of English football when they lost to Swansea City in the semi-finals of the 1988 Football League play-offs, and lost to Leyton Orient in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the 1999 play-off. Rotherham had been relegated from League One in the 2006–07 season and had been given a series of points deductions for entering administration on two separate occasions between 2006 and 2008. Dagenham were promoted from non-League football for the first time in their history when they finished top of the 2006–07 Football Conference, and had played in League Two since. They had not participated in the Football League play-offs before, although had played in the 2003 Football Conference play-off Final at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent where they lost 3–2 to Doncaster Rovers. Rotherham had won both games between the sides during the regular season with a 2–0 victory at the Don Valley Stadium in February 2010 and a 1–0 win at Victoria Road the following month. Rotherham's top scorer during the regular season was Le Fondre with 27 goals (25 in the league and 2 in the FA Cup) followed by Ellison with 10 (8 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup). Dagenham's leading marksmen were Benson with 18 goals (17 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup), Danny Green with 13 (all in the league) and Scott with 11 (10 in the league, 1 in the League Cup). The final was refereed by James Linington. Rotherham were considered favourites to win by bookmakers. Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation, and both starting elevens were unchanged from their semi-final second legs. The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. Summary The match kicked off around 3p.m. on 30 May 2010 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 32,054 spectators. Dagenham dominated the early stages, with Rotherham's goalkeeper Andy Warrington saving a shot from Green. Rotherham then had chances to score with Pablo Mills missing a header before three separate efforts from Ryan Taylor all failed to produce a goal. In the 30th minute, Romain Vincelot's bicycle kick was saved by Warrington before Sharps received the first yellow card of the match for unsporting behaviour: Warrington kept the resulting free kick from Green out. Three minutes later, Le Fondre was also booked, also for unsporting behaviour. In the 38th minute, a low cross from